


The Skull in the Tomb

by TheOneNerevarRing



Series: The Adventure's of Dravel Peragun Part I: The Outlander in Balmora [4]
Category: Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind
Genre: Gen, Original Character(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-31
Updated: 2018-08-31
Packaged: 2019-07-04 23:26:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,786
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15851580
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheOneNerevarRing/pseuds/TheOneNerevarRing
Summary: A re-telling of the journey for the skull of Llevule Andrano.





	The Skull in the Tomb

**Author's Note:**

> In this work i have used 2 poem's not written by myself, I have used them for reference only and i do not wish for any copyright violation, I have also used a version of the note's given by Sharn in the game but i have modified them myself, So that count's as a remix of a work

-The following is a translation of an account written in Daedric sometime between 4E 62-4E 65-

Out of all the travel's i did in order to get note's for the grand spymaster of the Blades Caius Cosades, The most odd of all was the note's i obtained from the mage Sharn Gra Muzgob, It began on 22 Last Seed 3E 426, It was the day after i had given Hasphat's note's about the Sixth House to Caius, He had told me the night before to come back the next day and since i was to obey his order's, I naturally came, At first he did'nt respond when i knocked, But then i got fed up and i burst through the door to find that was'nt there, But it seem's that he expected this to happen as there was a note to me on his table, It read as follow's:

To Dravel,  
I apologize for my sudden departure but during the night, I was called to by a guard to report to Fort Darius for urgent matter's of which i may not speak of here, But while i'm gone i'd like you to get me some more note's, And i want you to report to the Mage's Guild here in Balmora to talk to Sharn Gra Muzgob, Tell her I sent you, She'll know why you have come, While your there you might as well join the guild, It might be worth it.

Signed Caius Cosades, Grand Spymaster of the Blades.

And so i had wondered why he was sent off with little reason why, Well that was until when i put the note down and i saw something on the floor just under his bed, At first i did'nt what it was but i pulled it out and it turned out to be a Skooma Pipe, Which still had a small amount of smoke coming out, I also found in a bowl right beside it some Moon Sugar and of course Skooma, This was quite alarming as this mean't i was getting order's from a Skooma addict! However it seemed like that he was'nt on skooma before, So it must be just for nightly pleasure, But after that i walked over to the Mage's Guild which was located right beside the Fighter's Guild, I walked inside and met the head of the place Ranis Athrys, I told her that i wished to join, She then asked me a question, “You want to join the society of Mage's? Well before you join i wish to know how good is your skill in Magic?”, “Well i haven't used it in quite a while but when i did, I was considered one of the best” said i, She then mumbled something to herself, What i don't know, But she then said “Well let's hope so, But first of all what is your name?”  
“Well my name is Dravel Peragun” said i in response, “Dravel Peragun? That is an odd name for one of the Dunmer kind” said Ranis, “It is, But it's not my birth name, It was given to me by a friend of mine in Cyrodil many year's ago, Before that i had no name, When it comes to my homeland, Well that i don't know of either” said i in a speech like manner, She did look at me odd like for a moment but then afterward's wrote down the information i had said, Then it came to which skill's i was trained at, I told her that i was good in all skill's of Mysticism to some extent, After she wrote it down, She said to me “Well with that, I now appoint you as a member of the Guild of Mage's, Congratulation's”.

And so with that done, It was now time to see Sharn, But where she was? I did not know but as i walked down the ramp and turned to the right, I saw an Orc walk past me, I suspected then that it was her as i knew Sharn Gra Muzgob was a name of Orcish origin, But i asked just in case, “Yes i'm Sharn, What i may i do for you?” said Sharn, “Well it's a bit private so... is their a place in here where he can talk in private?” said i in response, She then lead me down a set of stair's to a long corridor until we reached her office, The office was a decent size, There was a small study in the corner of the room, A cupboard for dishes and cutlery, A small shelf with some local brew's on it, A table in the centre of the room with 3 chair's and a bed, It was basically a small apartment, She lead me to the table and i sat down while she grabbed 2 cup's and a bottle of Mazte, She poured the drink into the cup's and sat down, We both had a sip of out drink's before i got to business, “So what is it you want to talk to me about” said Sharn, I cleared my throat and then explained to her, “Well i come here from order's of Caius Cosades, He told me through a letter that i was to come to you for some matter”, “Ah your with Caius, Well because of that you do not need to explain any further, I know what he want's, He's want's some information on the Nerevarine Cult, Well before i give you it, I'd like you to do a small errand for me, But if you do not wish to do it, I will not mind” said she with a bit of joy in her speech, “Well what it is” i questioned to her, “Well i want you to get a skull from a tomb outside of the Andrano Ancestral Tomb, You see i need it for a special project” said she in a nervous voice, It was then i wondered why she would want a skull, But i accepted it nonetheless, “Very well, And if your wondering, The skull i'm looking for is that of a certain Llevule Andrano, His skull has a large crack on the back left side, But just to ask before you go, Is your sword made of Steel?” I then pulled out my sword and said “Yes it is, But why do you ask?” “Well there will most likely be ghost's and skeleton's in there guarding the tomb, And unless it's an steel or enchanted weapon, They resist all weapon attack's” said Sharn in response, It was good to know that as i never knew, I suspected that they would be harder to defeat than mortal's but i never knew that. 

And so i was off, I decided i would ride to Pelagiad and then to the tomb of which she had gave me a map on where the tomb was located of which it was right around a hill just a little bit off the southwestern coast of Lake Amaya, When i was on my journey, I could'nt help but mumble to myself a few old poem's of which i had learned many year's before, I will list two here and it they go as what follow's:

Darkest Divinities of the Daedra:

Though man and mer knew sin  
since time began,  
The Daedric Princes  
watch each mer and man  
Azura lights the day  
from dawn to dusk  
Hermaeus Mora  
calls up memories  
Hircine's Wild Hunt  
tracks blood and scent and musk  
Boethiah  
pursues conspiracies  
Foul Malacath  
remembers every curse  
Mehrunes Dagon  
knows destruction's wrath  
Mad Sheogorath  
hums a nonsense verse  
Stern Jyggalag  
sets order on its path  
Dark Molag Bal  
takes blood and souls as wealth  
Vaermina lives  
in worlds that dreamers see  
Though none can match  
unseen Norturnal's stealth  
Or hedonistic  
Sanguine's revelry  
For every troubled soul  
that must aspire,  
A Daedric Prince  
can grant each dark desire.

The Folly of Man:

Listen 'round, I've a warning to sound,  
About an overgrown weed.  
And, I don't mean to forebode, but this little ode,  
Is a lesson you must heed.  
Now, our story unfolds, upon a pitiful mold,  
Made to thrive on rot.  
This unsightly staph, was a trickster's last laugh,  
Long after his battle was fought.  
We called it the Sundering, in case you were wondering,  
When the heavens dropped out of the sky.  
They hit with a thud, and gave birth to the mud,  
Making up this mortal sty.  
It was a hell of a mess, but I digress,  
My story's about the swine.  
What took root in this land, were seeds called Man,  
That sprung up like fungus from grime.  
Their lives may be short, and lacking import,  
But keep an eye to their blundering.  
It's tempting to jest, about this simple pest,  
Until you've seen their plundering.  
For when Men bound, to the Doom Drum's sound,  
You'll learn what the Corpse-God wrought.  
Even Trinimac didn't know, with his final blow,  
Just how badly he'd been caught.

I arrived there a few hour's later considering it was a decent distance away from Balmora, As i found the tomb, I tied my guar cart to a nearby tree and went in, And as i soon as i entered, There was a ghost, Surprisingly the ghost died very quickly and it made thing's much easier, As i walked through the tomb, I noticed that this tomb had been visited quite recently, Usually you would expect a tomb which had'nt been touched in year's to be full of dust and other thing's but it was'nt, It was actually quite clean, Not only that, I also saw that some dead skeleton's were missing from their alter's, I originally thought that some of them were guarding the place but during my whole time in there, I did'nt encounter any, That was enough evidence to prove someone or something was in here, As i walked through the hall's and room's, I found more evidence of recent activity, There were piece's of Racer Plumes and small piles of Ash and Wind Salt's on the floor, And they were quite fresh, And then i made it to the largest room in the tomb where i'm guessing the most important member's of the family lay, I saw a table with a skeleton on it, And behind it, An individual chanting and yelling over it, And when he turned, I saw that it was an Altmer, As i approached he said to me “What are you doing here? Your not supposed to be here! Get out, Now!”, As i came to him i said “I wish you no harm, I have only come for the skull of Llevule Andrano, However i am guessing you are a necromancer?”, “I am, But why do you ask?”, said he in an fiery voice, I then looked over him to see what he was doing and it appear's he was trying to bring the skeleton to life, I then asked him “Why are you doing this?” He then said to me “That's none of your business, Now then here, This is the skull, Now get out or you will become part of my experiment's”, I took the skull and then walked out of the room, Since he was a necromancer, I knew it was a forbidden thing among certain people, Especially the Tribunal Temple of which i had learned about a day or so earlier, I then decided i would kill him, Not only because of that it was also because i really did'nt like what he was doing myself, As i approached him, He seemed to know i was about to kill him as he summoned a skeleton warrior just as i came back in, I prepared my sword and dagger and then pulled it out and killed the skeleton, Then i threw my dagger into his abdomen, He fell to the ground and said to me “I knew you would do this, But it does'nt mean i die in vein!”, As he was about to say a spell, I decapitated him and his now headless body fell to the ground, It was quite a horrid site as a small puddle of blood formed beneath him.

As i looked through the area, There was'nt much, There was of course the table with a skeleton on it, Around it were four iron dagger's with one at each corner, There was also another table of which there was a plate with some ingredient's on it and a full alchemy set disigned for a master, I decided i would take it for future alchemy experiment's of mine own, And there was also 3 piece's of paper, It appeared to be page's of a journal, I also took those for keeping, They said on them the following:

The Journal of Runantar Kaeosin 

Page 1:

9 Last Seed – The test's on the body haven't gone well, Every time i speak of the spell, The body simply turn's to dust, I'm not sure what i'm doing wrong but i'll have to re examine the book to find out what i did wrong.

11 Last Seed – After re-examining the text, I discovered that i had spoken the wrong spell, I now know it and now it is time to perform the summoning.

Page 2:

16 Last Seed – After five day's of test's and failure's, I have finally at last summoned a creature using method's from text's going back many decade's and centuries, But now it is time for the real test, And that is to re-animate a dead skeleton.

18 Last Seed - After taking a break for a day i have now returned to my experiment's and have chosen which body i shall perform the ceremony on, The body is that of Farele Andrano, I will do it in a few day's time as i am missing some ingredient's that are needed.

Page 3:

21 Last Seed – I have now returned to perform the summoning with the required ingredient's of Ash Salt's, Wind Salt's and dried Racer Meat, I will now make a special elixir and hopefully it will work.

22 Last Seed – The potion is now complete, Due to the special nature of the elixir, It took a total of 13 hour's to brew, It is now time to pour it on the body before i add the last ingredient, A few drop's of my own blood.

 

The page's were hard to read, How could any one being go to this extent of madness?! But in time, I would find more insane individual's, As i left the tomb, I rolled up the page's i had found a put them in a small box, Then i put it in my cart and rode off, While i was heading back, I decided i would stop in Pelagiad for the night, By the time i had come out of the tomb, The moon was already high in the sky, As i rode in, The street's were quiet and calm, It was a very peaceful sight, The town had a very nice look to it except for the Imperial fort at the northern end, The fort was called Fort Pelagiad but other's also called it Fort Lakemoth, It was the reason why this town was called Pelagiad, As i came to the tavern, I got off and parked my cart and walked into the tavern, It was called The Halfway Tavern, It was a very nice place, The place was'nt crowded but there were a few here, There were 2 Nord's drinking at the bar counter, A Bosmer sitting at a table near the door, A Dumner tavern keeper behind the bar counter and an Altmer lutenist who was playing a most wonderful tune, I came to the keeper and asked to her “Do you have a room?”, He then looked to me and said “We do, And you can have it for 15 drake's until tomorrow morning”, “That's a fair price, I'll take it then” said i as i handed her the gold, She took the gold and then said “Thank you, Here's the key to your room, It's located right up the stair's, Good night”, And so i walked up the stair's, Unlocked the door and walked in, I set my thing's down and laid down on the bed, At the same time i laid down, I heard the lutenist i had seen when i arrived begin to play this dreamy and soothing air, Like a lullaby your mother sang to you, It's note's went to high and low and passages came and went as i drifted into a deep slumber.

I awoke the next morning to head back to Balmora, The journey back was long but somehow relaxing as i passed through the tree's and stream's and saw the glare on Lake Amaya, I spoke more poetry to pass the time and by mid day i was back in Balmora, I immediately rode over to the Mage's Guild to deliver i skull i had taken to Sharn, I parked outside in the same spot as i had before and went in, I asked Ranis to know where she was, “Sharn? Oh she's in her quarter's”, I then walked to her quarter's and walked in, “Ah Dravel, Welcome back, Did you bring what i wanted”, said Sharn, I then nodded yes and gave the skull to her, “Thank you, And here are your note's, I'd recommend you make a copy of them for personal studying, They might come i useful for later, Take care with them”, I then rode to my house and saw if Caius was home and he was not, I decided that while i waited for him, I would read the note's, The following is a transcript of what they said:

 

The Nerevarine Cult  
This Ashlander religious cult follows the prophecies of a Nerevar reborn to honor ancient promises to the tribes, to re-establish the ancient traditions of the Prophet Saint Veloth, to cast down the false gods of the Tribunal Temple, and to drive all outlanders from Morrowind. Both the Temple and Empire outlaw the cult, but it still persists among the Ashlanders tribe's despite the Imperial and Temple repression. Because it is persecuted, it remains a secret cult, and it is hard to judge how widespread it is among the Ashlanders, or whether it has any following outside the Ashlander tribes.

The Nerevarine  
The Ashlanders firmly believe that Nerevar will one day return to restore the glories of ancient Resdayn [Morrowind was originally called 'Resdayn' before the Imperial Occupation.] The Ashlanders say the Great Houses and the Temple have abandoned the pure and honest teachings of the Prophet Saint Veloth, forsaking the ancestor worship for the false gods of the Tribunal, and embracing the comforts of civilization that corrupted the High Elves of the Summerset Isles. The Temple, on the other hand, venerates Saint Nerevar, but rejects the disgusting notion that the False Incarnate will walk the face of Nirn one day like a ghoul.

Nerevar  
The Temple honors Saint Nerevar as the greatest Dunmer general, First Councilor, and companion of Vivec, Almalexia, and Sotha Sil, who united the Dunmer Houses to destroy the evil Dwemer, the treacherous House Dagoth and it's leader, and their Western allies at other area's of Red Mountain. But the Ashlanders say that Nerevar promised to honor the Ancient Spirits and the Tribal law, and that he will come again to honor that promise one day. To the Ashlanders, this means destroying the false Temple, driving the Imperial invaders from the land and restoring Morrowind to it's former glory.

 

The Nerevarine Prophecies  
Dream visions and prophecies are a respected tradition in the Ashlander culture. Their wise women and shamans take careful note of their dreams and visions, and pass on the tribe's legacies of vision and prophecy to their successors. By contrast, the Temple and the Western faiths are very suspicious of mysticism, and they regard interpretation of dreams and visions as nothing but primitive superstition.  
The most common version of the Nerevarine Prophecy is a text known as THE STRANGER. The verses are obscure, as are most prophecies. But two observations are in order. First, many less-well-informed scholars assume that the phrase "journeyed far 'neath moon and star" is just a cliche to suggest a very long journey of some kind, but the Nerevar of legend was known to possess a magical ring named "One-Clan-Under-Moon-and-Star," upon which Nerevar is said to have sworn his promise to honor ancient Ashlander traditions and land rights. Second, the reference to "seven curses" must certainly refer to the lost prophetic verses known to the Ashlanders as the SEVEN CURSES.

 

THE STRANGER:  
When earth is sundered, and skies choked black,  
And sleepers serve the seven curses,  
To the hearth there comes a stranger,  
Journeyed far 'neath moon and star

Though stark-born to sire uncertain  
His aspect marks his certain fate.  
Wicked stalk him, righteous curse him.  
Prophets speak, but all deny.  
Many trials make manifest  
The stranger's fate, the curses' bane.  
Many touchstones try the stranger  
Many fall, but one remains.

The Lost Prophecies  
The Ashlander elders often complain of prophecies which have been lost to tribal memory due to the carelessness or ineptitude of earlier generations of wise women and ashkhans. Suspicious scholars however have always wondered whether these prophecies might have been deliberately forgotten, suppressed in some way or just simply lost through time. Three Nerevarine prophecies in particular are said to have been lost, They are known as The Lost Prophecies, The Seven Curses and The Seven Visions of Seven Trials of the Incarnate. Perhaps these lost prophecies will someday be found, either in forgotten accounts written by literate travelers long ago, or in the memories of the isolated Ashlanders tribes, or in the secret traditions of the various wise women and shamans.

The note's left a lot unanswered to me but i guess it would be in due time, One part of it stuck out to me though, The verse in the stranger “Many fall, But one remain's”, It brought back a memory of the day i had arrived, When i was on the boat taking me to Seyda Neen, I had a dream just before it docked of which i heard a female voice saying to me “Fear not, For i am watchful, You have been chosen”, And in the back i could hear a male voice saying something, I could'nt understand it except for the last few word's, And it matched what it said, But what did this mean? Alas i knew not, And so i then pondered over the word's and my thought's as i waited for Caius to return.


End file.
